After years of teaching, French 1, 2, 3 and AP French with the same textbook series, teacher Elaine Haggerty believed it might be time for a change. Next year, the French 1 class will use an online and physical version of “Reporters Francophones” instead of the traditional “D’Accord!”
The change lessens financial concerns of buying new materials for all levels while allowing Haggerty to gauge the impact of a new and improved textbook on one class.
With a new textbook in mind, Haggerty asked her French 2 students to vote on whether or not to switch from “D’Accord!” textbook to “Reporters Francophones.” Although the majority voted to stick with the current textbook lesson plan, Haggerty plans to integrate some elements of “Reporters Francophones” in her curriculum.
“We have access to an online textbook section, but the full licenses [for the textbooks] are really expensive,” Haggerty said. “And [the district office] said that if we want that license, we need to pilot some new books to make sure we have the best resources. We’re starting the switch with French I next year, but not for French II and III yet. We’re going to roll it out slowly.”
The license would cover both a physical and online textbook, so the shift would mean that Haggerty could see the impact of a more effective textbook for the same price as the old one.
Other teachers like Spanish 3 and 4 Honors teacher Stephany Marks also started a new book for only one of her classes, so the shift, like Haggerty’s French I class, wasn’t as much of a drastic change for the program.
While a new textbook may seem appealing to some students who want to try out something different, others prefer the original ones for various reasons, including a consistent curriculum or sticking with familiar themes and characters.
French classes, in particular, show short videos from the popular series “Roman Photo,” in which a group of friends in the town of Aix-en-Provence go through various trials and tribulations. Changing the textbook would leave students without knowing the fates of their favorite characters that they’ve followed throughout their years in French. However, the learning benefits that come with the new textbook are important to consider, Haggerty said.
“[The new textbook] focuses more on active learning rather than just memorizing,” she said. “I would teach the context of the language first and then the grammar, and the context shows you why you need the grammar rather than the other way around [which isn’t as effective]. I really want to try that out.”
